Women of color in the United States (Quick take)

Executive summary

Population

One in five people in the United States is a woman of color 1

Women of color comprised 20.3% of the United States population in 2021, an increase from 18.4% in 2010.1

Women of color will be the majority of all women in the United States by 2060 2

Percentage of Total Women in the US Population (2021)Annual estimates of the resident population by sex, race, and Hispanic origin for the United States: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021 [Data set]. National Population by Characteristics: 2020-2022.1 Percentage of Total Women in the US Population (2060) Table 4: Projected race and Hispanic origin [Data set].2017 National Population Projections Tables3
White (not Hispanic or Latina) 59.2% 44.3%
Hispanic or Latina 18.5% 27.0%
Black or African American 13.9% 15.2%
Asian 6.3% 9.5%
American Indian and
Alaska Native
1.3% 1.4%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.3% 0.3%

A quick look

How to cite this product: Women of color in the United States: Quick Take. (2023, February 1). Catalyst.

Endnotes

  1. United States Census Bureau. (2021). Annual estimates of the resident population by sex, race, and Hispanic origin for the United States: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021 [Data set]. National Population by Characteristics: 2020-2022.
  2. United States Census Bureau. (2020). Annual estimates of the resident population by sex, race, and Hispanic origin [Data set]; United States Census Bureau. (2018). Table 4: Projected race and Hispanic origin [Data set]. 2017 National Population Projections Tables.
  3. United States Census Bureau. (2018). Table 4: Projected race and Hispanic origin [Data set]. 2017 National Population Projections Tables.
  4. National Center for Education Statistics. (2021). Table 322.20: Bachelor’s degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity and sex of student: Selected years, 1976-77 through 2019-20 [Data set]. 2021 Digest of Education Statistics.
  5. National Center for Education Statistics. (2020). Table 322.20: Bachelor’s degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity and sex of student: Selected years, 1976-77 through 2018-19 [Data set]. 2020 Digest of Education Statistics.
  6. National Center for Education Statistics. (2021). Table 322.50., Bachelor’s degrees conferred to females by postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity and field of study: 2018-19 and 2019-20 [Data set]. 2021 Digest of Education Statistics.
  7. The BLS has an “all other groups” category which includes (1) those classified as being of multiple racial origin and (2) the racial categories of (2a) Asian (2b) American Indian and Alaska Native and (2c) Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021). Table 3.1: Civilian labor force by age, sex, race, and ethnicity, 2000, 2010, 2020, and projected 2030 (numbers in thousands) [Data set]. Employment Projections
  8. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021). Table 3.1: Civilian labor force by age, sex, race, and ethnicity, 2000, 2010, 2020, and projected 2030 (numbers in thousands) [Data set]. Employment Projections. 
  9. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021). Table 10: Employed persons by occupation, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex [Data set]. Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey.
  10. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023). Table 9. Employed people by industry, gender, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2021 annual averages [Data set]. Labor force characteristics by race and ethnicity, 2021.
  11. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023). Table E-16. Unemployment rates by age, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.  Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey.
  12. Glynn, S.J. & DeWolf, M. (2022, February 9). Black women’s economic recovery continues to lagU.S. Department of Labor Blog.
  13. United States Census Bureau [2022] The Employment Situation – December 2020 [News Release] Employment Situation Summary
  14. Dorfman, D. (2022). Retail trade employment: before, during, and after the pandemic. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Beyond the Numbers (11)
  15. Williams, J., Andrews, O., Boginsky, M. Why Many Women of Color Don’t Want to Return to the Office. (2022, May) Harvard Business Review.
  16. Thomas, R., Cooper, M., Urban, K.M., Cardazone, G., Noble-Tolla, M., Mahajan, S., Edwards, B., Yee, L., Krivkovich, A., Rambachan, I., Liu, W.W., Williams, M., Robinson, N. & Nguyen, H. Women in the workplace 2022. (2022, October). LeanIn and McKinsey and Company.
  17. The White House/Office of Management and Budget. (1997, October 30). Revisions to the standards for the classification of federal data on race and ethnicity. Federal Register Notice; U.S. Census Bureau. (2011, March). 2010 Census briefs: Overview of race and Hispanic origin: 2010.
  18. National Center for Education Statistics. (2018, November 1). Statistical standards. National Center for Education Statistics.